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CRP Signup Results Announced

USDA reports interest is high in the 26-year-old program.

May 25, 2012

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced Friday that USDA will accept 3.9 million acres offered under the 43rd Conservation Reserve Program general sign-up. During the extended five-week signup, the Department received nearly 48,000 offers on more than 4.5 million acres of land.

Under Vilsack's guidance, the agency has now enrolled nearly 12 million acres in the CRP since 2009. Currently there are 29.6 million acres enrolled on more than 736,000 contracts.

ENROLLING CRP: USDA reports interest is high in the 26-year-old program.

“For more than 25 years, lands in CRP have helped to support strong incomes for our farmers and ranchers and produce good middle-class jobs throughout the country related to outdoor recreation, hunting, and fishing,” said Vilsack. “As the commodities produced by our farmers and ranchers continue to perform strongly in the marketplace—supporting 1 out of every 12 jobs here in the United States—it is no surprise that American producers also recognize the importance of protecting our nation’s most environmentally sensitive land by enrolling in CRP.”

Enrollment of the new 3.9 million acres will allow USDA to continue targeting of CRP acres through continuous sign-up initiatives - including those announced earlier this year for highly erodible land, as well as grasslands and wetlands - while also maintaining and enhancing the benefits the program has already achieved. The two continuous signups announced earlier this year will target an additional 1.75 million acres in total.

For the first continuous sign-up program, USDA encourages landowners with land that has an Erosion Index of 20 or greater to consider participating in the Highly Erodible Land initiative. Lands eligible for this program are typically the least productive land on the farm. In many cases the most cost-effective option to reduce erosion is to put the land into a wildlife friendly cover, which will improve habitat and reduce sediment and nutrient runoff and reduce wind erosion. For the second continuous sign-up program, landowners with sensitive grasslands, wetlands and wildlife habitat are encouraged to participate. The grasslands and wetlands initiative increases acres set aside for specific enrollments that benefit duck nesting habitat, upland birds, wetlands, and wildlife, and provides benefits for specific conservation practices, including new benefits for pollinator practices.

USDA selected offers for enrollment based on an Environmental Benefits Index comprised of five environmental factors plus cost. The five environmental factors are: (1) wildlife enhancement, (2) water quality, (3) soil erosion, (4) enduring benefits, and (5) air quality. The minimal acceptable EBI level for this sign-up was 209. The average rental rate per acre for this sign-up is $51.24.

The agency says that in 2011 as a result of CRP, nitrogen and phosphorous losses from farm fields were reduced by 623 million pounds and 124 million pounds respectively. The CRP has restored more than two million acres of wetlands and associated buffers and reduces soil erosion by more than 300 million tons per year. CRP also provides $1.8 billion annually to landowners—dollars that make their way into local economies, supporting small businesses and creating jobs. In addition, CRP is the largest private lands carbon sequestration program in the country.